


No Expiration Date

by Capucine



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Siblings, Brothers, Cute Kids, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Harm to Children, Implied/Referenced Neglect, Insecurity, Kinda, Writing on the Body
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 19:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6672832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Capucine/pseuds/Capucine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Roy is adopted by Bruce, it's up to Dick to help him feel welcome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Expiration Date

**Author's Note:**

> My prompt was the word Tears and the tag 'Writing on the Body.'
> 
> Enjoy!

It was actually pretty rare that Dick found Roy crying.

Scratch that, unless it was angry tears, that was pretty much never.

But back when he’d been adopted for the third time, this time by Dick’s dad, Bruce Wayne, there had definitely been angry tears. Anger at being passed along like an unwanted Christmas gift. Anger at Oliver for letting him get hurt and therefore giving him up under pressure.

Roy was his age, roughly. Obviously, he wouldn’t have the same birthday, but Dick wasn’t certain who was the big brother in this situation.

At twelve years old, it felt like a biggish deal.

Roy was definitely an angry kid. Like, not some sort of monster, in Dick’s opinion, just upset. Didn’t smile much. It looked a little alien on his face sometimes.

So. A solid month after moving in, as Roy’s neck slowly healed and his cast came off his arm, Dick found him crying alone in an armoire.

“Hey, Roy? You okay?”

Of course, he wasn’t, most people weren’t when they cried. The redhead couldn’t turn his neck very fast, despite a good amount of the bruises being gone, and he hiccupped out, “G-Go away!”

Dick climbed into the armoire, and shut the door. He slapped a click light, and looked at Roy in the glow. “You know, it is okay to cry. Getting adopted is scary—“

“This is the _third_ fucking time, don’t you think I know?” Roy demanded, language a bit more obscene than Bruce usually preferred.

Dick had heard it all, he worked in a circus, so he didn’t so much as flinch. But he did tilt his head a little. “You know this isn’t just the third time—it’s the last time.”

Roy’s look was scathing. “Yeah? What do you think they said the other two times? ‘This is only temporary—third time’s the charm!’”

Dick was quiet a moment. He hadn’t totally considered how differently scary it was for Roy to be adopted by Bruce. How it might feel a whole world different. And in the worst way.

Cause, his own adoption was scary—to see your parents die, to be without them, to move on from everything you’d ever known? That was frightening. That was four years ago, and some days, Dick remembered it like it happened yesterday.

And he had not exactly had a stable spot to call home—just a stable family to call home. Roy had been rooted out more than once, like a weed or a transplant that didn’t fit with the theme anymore.

“Well, you are gonna stay this time,” Dick promised.

Roy snorted, swiping at his damp cheeks. “Don’t lie to me.”

And Dick had a plan. He whipped out a sharpie marker, and took Roy’s uninjured arm. Roy didn’t fight him, but was giving him a look like he was crazy.

“Hold still.”

Dick had to think a moment, decide, and then, he had. He wrote it out, as smooth and swooping letters as he could, like a signature. Then he held it up to the click light for Roy to see.

And Roy started laughing. “You’re a dork, you know that?”

The silver glinted, the inscription clear:

‘Roy Harper-Wayne. Expiration Date: Never.’

Dick added an infinity symbol with a grin. “That’s what brothers do. Now that you’ve been stamped, you’re official Wayne merchandise. Can’t be thrown out for a stupid reason.”

Roy was laughing, and the look wasn’t alien this time. “You—oh my god—“ he apparently couldn’t come up with words to describe how ridiculous this was.

But it had him laughing.

Alfred saw the writing later, and gave Dick a subtle approving look. An almost amused look.

And Roy seemed to settle in a bit better, not completely at ease for sure, but at least aware he could rely on Dick.

The two became inseparable, and Dick’s promise was true: Roy was never adopted for the fourth time.

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda pulled the idea from my Poor Man's Hero verse. I am kinda attached to little Roy, I guess. Poor kiddo.
> 
> Plus, a lot of foster homes is stressful even with the knowledge that it's not supposed to be permanent--being uprooted like Roy in this story is going to create some serious upset plus trust issues.
> 
> The superhero community pressured Green Arrow after Roy got hurt badly under his watch again. So, yay. This is early on in the sidekick thing, after all. Plus, seeing Roy's general behavior getting worse was an indicator for folks. Dunno, man.


End file.
